Q&A: Chelsea Gonzales

A lot can change in a year- just ask Smash It Sports Vipers shortstop, Chelsea Gonzales. She is a 2020 Olympian, a second-year player in the WPF, and as of December 23, 2022, a mom. Gonzales gave birth to her beautiful daughter Leilani this past off-season, and is busy preparing to take the field again in June.

We sat down with Chelsea to talk about her start in softball, representing Mexico on the biggest stage in sports, and returning for another year of pro ball with her daughter and family rooting her on.

Tell us when and why you fell in love with softball.

I fell in love with the game at an early age of seven. I started playing at the age of three, almost four, and didn’t realize how competitive this sport was until I got to the age of seven where I was playing for the city of La Habra. I loved being with my teammates and competing in such a high intensity sport! When I got to the age of nine and was on my first ever travel ball team- that is when I knew this is what I wanted to do. I loved traveling in general, so getting to play the sport I love while doing it was the perfect combo. Playing against the different states and seeing all the talent made me push myself more to become one of the best to come out of the city of La Habra. I wanted to make them proud. I still play for that little girl.

You are a 2020 Olympian with Team Mexico. What was it like to represent the country of Mexico on the biggest sports stage in the world?

First and foremost it was a complete HONOR to play for the country of Mexico. My family is from Guadalajara and I knew I wanted to make them proud. When I had first told my grandparents that I was going to be playing for Mexico, they were so happy and proud of me. I am forever grateful that both my grandparents got to see me play in the Olympics before recently both passing away within a year of each other. I always told them I was so proud to rock the Gonzales name and I’m so glad they got to see the name on the biggest stage in the world. That was the dream. It was such an amazing experience seeing and knowing that we were making the country of Mexico proud of us. They would always come up and tell us how happy they were to see their country’s name out there and how we had something to do with that. It was a dream come true.

You recently gave birth to your daughter, Leilani. What are you most looking forward to being back with the Vipers this summer with her by your side?

I am mostly looking forward to her being there in the stands watching her mama play. For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to be a mom and still playing. I think it is such an inspiration to women that even though you have a baby, you don’t have to give up the game you love. It is definitely a difficult journey, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. It is absolutely a dream of mine for my daughter to be able to come with me this summer and watch. I know she won’t remember any of it but I want her to look back at pictures and videos and see her mama was a badass and hopefully one day she can go pro if she wants to and become a mother like me and still play. At the end of the day I hope I can be her inspiration and someone she looks up to and is proud of.

How important has the support of your boyfriend, Nicholas Guillen, been during this transition back into playing mode?

Oh my goodness, he has been the biggest supporter of me getting back to the game. There have been a lot of rough days where I didn’t feel like going to work out, or going to hit. He was there to hold me accountable. He has made it a lot of fun to push through those difficult obstacles, and he is so excited for the summer! He knows me better than anyone, so he knows my limits and even the times that I don’t believe in myself, he gives me that confidence that I do have what it takes and that I can do it. He is awesome!

Follow along with Chelsea’s journey on Instagram @chelsgonz1122.

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